


hold my hand and never let go

by dianapaulsen



Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Post Season 9, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26465524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dianapaulsen/pseuds/dianapaulsen
Summary: “Did you say it? 'I love you.' 'I don't ever want to live without you.' 'You changed my life.' Did you say it? Make a plan. Set a goal. Work toward it, but every now and then look around; Drink it in 'cause this is it. It might all be gone tomorrow.” - Meredith GreyWho said life in Seattle would be easy? Donna suffers complications after a routine surgery and now doctors need to race against time to save her life.A Darvey version of the case of Suzanne Britland in "A Hard Pill to Swallow" on Grey's Anatomy.
Relationships: Donna Paulsen/Harvey Specter
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	hold my hand and never let go

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings:  
> the disease remains the same;  
> the doctors also remains the same, but without their personal stories, it's a Darvey story;  
> I did my best to research the additional medical info, but I am not an expert, so there may be errors.

If at any time in the present, Donna bumped into an old friend and he or she asked her what was new in her life, she would definitely have a lot to tell.

Her life in the past year has suffered what many would say a 360-degree turnaround. Of course, the vast majority were good things, but she would not deny that many changes in a short time had not affected her.

Perhaps the most difficult part for her was to say goodbye to the place and the people she worked with for so many years of her life, but she was excited to start a new stage in her life and even happier to do this alongside her husband, Harvey.

Another big news in her life. She and Harvey were now married, and as much as they had known each other for most of their adult lives, Donna was increasingly taking advantage of getting to know Harvey in this new way. Sometimes she finds herself remembering the moments when she thought it would never happen, that she would never have that chance, but fortunately everything happened the way it was supposed to, that is, in favor of both and she couldn't be happier for this.

One of the things that maybe she was having a harder time adapting to all these changes was the city. Seattle, which was known for its cold, rainy weather and has given Donna more colds in the last year than in all the winters combined in New York.

But despite that, it was all worth it, because in addition to having Harvey by her side in every possible way she could imagine, it was great to be able to be close and work again with two of her best friends, Rachel and Mike.

They were as excited as she and Harvey to have their friends around and to be able to share not only their work, but also their personal lives. Now her days were filled with incredible and satisfying work, with the bonus of a reduced workload compared to PSL and evenings and weekends alongside Harvey and their friends. Sometimes the four of them together or a girls' night or just a night of the two hugging in front of the fireplace, and of course, sometimes Donna was able to participate in the local theater in her new city.

So almost a year after all these changes, Donna was sitting at her desk in the office on a late Thursday afternoon, rereading a document perhaps for the fourth or fifth time and internally wishing the weekend would come soon.

The week had been hectic and tiring and having to deal with two associates who resembled Harvey and Louis in their worst moments had not helped at all. Harvey was trying to end a case that had been going on all week in court and she was sure she had stretched some muscle in her abdomen during her last yoga session, and she was probably getting a cold again.

Taking a deep breath, Donna closed the document she had been trying to read for the past half hour and decided it was time to go home. As she grabbed her things, Donna thought about her plans for the night, which consisted of a hot shower and a cup of tea in front of the fireplace with her favorite blanket while she waited for Harvey to get home.

She said goodbye to her colleagues and went home. Later, when she was already on the couch with her cup of tea, she heard when the front door was opened and the sound of keys being placed on the table in the entrance, a few seconds later she saw Harvey come into the room.

"Hey" he greeted her and came over to kiss her.

"Hey" she returned the kiss and when they pulled apart, Harvey threw himself on the couch next to her, sighing tiredly. "How was it in court?"

"I think we're finally going to be able to wrap it tomorrow," he replied, rubbing his face in an attempt to shake off his tiredness. "And your day, how was it? Those two still giving you a hard time?"

"Don't even remember me, I'm one step away from locking those two up in the file room," Donna replied in exasperation and Harvey laughed at her reaction.

They sat side by side for a while in comfortable silence, while Harvey drew invisible circles on Donna's thigh, until the sound of his stomach filled the silence. He then took out his cell phone and accessed the delivery app.

"Have you eaten?" He asked as he checked the list of his favorite restaurants.

"No" Donna settled on the couch slowly, trying not to move the painful part of her abdomen too much, as she was almost dozing when Harvey moved. "But you can order just for yourself, I'm not hungry" Harvey then looked at her.

"You didn't have dinner yesterday too," he commented.

"I think I ate a lot at lunch then," she replied, her head resting on the back of the sofa with her eyes closed.

"If you think a salad is a lot, I will think I married a rabbit then" Donna laughed at his comment.

"It's been a long week, I think I just want to sleep," she replied, opening her eyes and looking at Harvey, who approached her in order to tickle her to try to cheer her up and at first Donna laughed when his fingers brushed her belly, but then she pushed it away with a low hiss of pain.

"What's it? Did I hurt you?" He asked worried.

"No, no" Donna massaged the place. "I think I stretched something in yoga, that's all." Harvey then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the pain expression he saw on her face gradually disappear.

"As long as it was yoga and not me" he commented and made a suggestive expression to her and she laughed.

"Oh sure, you must have some blame on it, if the words kitchen counter tells you something" Harvey then made an expression of indignation.

"Excuse me, but as far as I can remember, that was your idea" he pointed to her, who pulled his finger to bring him closer and kissed him and then stood up.

"Yes, but it was me who stood against the counter while you..."

"Okay, okay! I get it," Harvey interrupted, raising his hands in surrender. "Never listen to your wife when she is trying to seduce you in the kitchen, as it can only end up coming back to bite you in the ass."

Donna just laughed and moved to grab a blanket when she felt a shiver run through her body and went back to sit next to Harvey again, who had just finished placing his order on his cell phone. They talked about other cases that were going on at the firm until the food was delivered. Harvey tried to get Donna to eat some, but without success.

Later, when Harvey had finished cleaning up the mess he had made on the coffee table and taking a shower, he went back to the living room and saw that Donna was sleeping on the couch. He stood admiring her for a while, her expression calm and serene, before picking her up and taking her to bed, where he lay down beside her and hugged her close to his body as he did every night.

.

.

Donna woke up to the sound of the alarm clock beside her and moaned when the noise made her aware that she had woken up with a headache. When she stretched to put an end at the annoying noise, she immediately regretted it when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and had to curl up in bed.

Taking a deep breath, Donna waited until the pain passed so she could move again, but carefully this time. Alarm clock off, she looked to the side and saw that she was alone and immediately remembered that Harvey had told her the night before that he was going out to court early in order to try to close the case today.

The sharp pain was gone, but Donna was still uncomfortable, so she walked cautiously to the bathroom and hoped a hot shower would relieve the pain, she needed to survive just another day until the weekend, where she could rest properly.

Ready for work, Donna felt a little better after showering and went off to work without eating breakfast, because just like the night before, she was not hungry.

Unfortunately, the feeling of improvement that Donna had felt after her shower that morning did not last long.

While checking the work of one of the associates, she felt the discomfort in her abdomen gradually increase, she then stopped for a moment to seek the remote of the room's air conditioning and was surprised when she saw that the room was at the usual temperature, but today she was feeling colder than usual and then changed.

But just ten minutes later, Donna felt like the room was too hot and changed the temperature again, which didn't last long, because in a short time she was shivering again.

Taking advantage of the fact that she needed to leave some documents in Harvey's office, Donna decided she would proceed to the building's maintenance area and ask someone to check her air conditioner. She walked over to her husband's office and left the documents he would need for another case on his desk, but when she was about to leave, she again felt a sharp pain in her abdomen and this time stronger.

Bending, Donna tried to take a deep breath, but as she did, she felt the pain getting worse, so she forced herself to breathe slowly. Carefully, she managed to sit on the sofa and just like in the morning, she waited until the pain was gone, but this time, it did not seem to show any signs of disappearing completely.

Minutes later, Rachel appeared in the room and saw that her friend was there.

"Donna" Rachel greeted her when she entered the room. "I just came to get a document that I need for a case I'm working on."

"Harvey is not here, he is in court" Donna replied as she tried to control her breathing.

"Right," Rachel said. "I forgot" and then turned to take a better look at her friend. "Are you alright?" She asked worried and approached her.

"I don't think so" replied sincerely and Rachel saw that Donna had a hand on her abdomen and an expression of pain, her face looked a little sweaty too. She then sat across from her and placed a hand on her forehead.

"Donna, you're burning up!" She exclaimed and it was then that Donna told her about what she had been feeling since she woke up, while Rachel poured her a glass of water.

She saw when Donna once again pressed her hand over her abdomen and tried to breathe through the pain and in that moment, Mike appeared at the office.

"Hey, have you seen Harvey?" He asked.

"He's in court" Rachel answered, as she watched Donna drop her head on the back of the couch and take a deep breath.

"Right" and it was only then that he realized the situation. "What is happening?" And approached.

"She's not doing well," she replied worried as she smoothed her friend's hair. "I was going to suggest that we call the doctor at the firm, but she is burning up and I think we better take her to the hospital."

"Sure," Mike replied quickly. "Come on, I'll take us."

"Are you going to drive?" Donna questioned the friend who nodded. "I think I prefer to stay here" and laughed lightly. One of the things Mike had done when he moved to Seattle was officially learning how to drive and get his driver's license, and of course Donna didn't miss an opportunity to play with her friend.

"I think she's fine," Mike commented and Donna just laughed again, but quickly regretted it when another wave of pain came.

"Ok, enough, come on." Mike said and went over to Rachel and they both helped Donna to her feet. "Can you walk?" And she nodded.

The three then walked to the elevators, which would take them to the garage and then they could proceed towards the hospital.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the Sloan-Grey Memorial and while Rachel helped Donna sit in one of the chairs, Mike went to the reception to explain what was going on. After the nurse asked them to fill out some papers, another nurse came and took Donna to a small room next door, where she would write down her symptoms and check the blood pressure and her temperature. In the meantime, Mike was trying to call Harvey, but since he was in court, he knew Harvey would not answer.

With high blood pressure and a high fever, Donna received a yellow label on her wrist and in a few minutes, she was sent to a bed in the emergency room. Rachel helped her lay on the bed and take off her shoes, the same nurse then returned with a hospital gown for Donna to wear. Mike left while Rachel helped her get dressed.

When Donna was ready, the curtains were opened again and he returned to them and whistled when he saw Donna in hospital clothes.

"I'm sorry Donna, but white with blue small dots is definitely not your color" commented and Donna just rolled her eyes, she no longer felt much more strength to do anything else. Mike just laughed at her reaction and watched her and saw how in a few seconds his friend became paler and then green. "And it's certainly not the green one either," he commented worriedly and then Rachel turned to her friend, who didn't look well at all.

The nurse who was nearby and already had a lot of experience with it, looked at Donna and noticed immediately. Quickly, she took a small dark gray basin and placed it in front of Donna at the very moment when she throws up.

Rachel held her friend's hair while she vomited and became even more concerned for her and thanked her internally for having decided to bring her to the hospital immediately. As soon as Donna was finished, she lay tired on the bed from the effort.

A moment after, a dark-haired doctor appeared and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Dr. DeLuca," he said as he took out her chart.

"Donna Paulsen" Donna replied and pointed to her friends. "These are my friends Rachel and Mike" both greeted him.

Dr. DeLuca then examined her chart and when he was finished, he came over to examine her.

"Ok Donna, I'm going to examine your abdomen and you tell me where it hurts" she nodded and stood still while being examined, but not for long, when Dr. DeLuca reached the bottom of her right side, Donna exclaimed in pain.

"Okay" he finished the exam and wrote down some things in the chart. "I'm going to order a blood count and an emergency CT. I suspect it's appendicitis, but we need tests to confirm."

"Okay," Donna agreed, while DeLuca passed the information on to the nurse to prepare her for the exam.

As soon as the nurse finished the blood test, a male nurse came in with a wheelchair, ready to take her for a CT scan.

"I'll try to call Harvey again" Mike warned Donna before they took her and she thanked him.

As soon as she was taken, Rachel and Mike were taken to the waiting room, where they were supposed to wait for her.

.

.

Harvey shook hands with his client who once again thanked him, both tired from the time the case dragged on, but happy to finally close and win. Harvey was more than ready to end that week and go home to relax and enjoy the weekend with Donna and a nice bottle of wine.

When he took his phone out of his pocket and turned it on again, he saw that there were several missed calls from Mike and when he was about to return, his phone started ringing again and again it was Mike, he then said goodbye to his client and walked to the hallway outside to answer.

"Mike" greeted his friend "Are you already calling me to congratulate me on winning the case?" he says amused.

"I wish I did," he replied, and Harvey realized there was something in his friend's voice.

"What happened?"

"I need you to come to the Sloan-Grey Memorial" he said and took a deep breath before completing. "It's Donna."

"What?" Harvey felt his blood run cold when he heard the name of his wife and a hospital in the same sentence. "What happened to her, Mike?" At the same time Harvey was on his way out of the courtroom, striding without paying much attention, he didn't care he was bumping into some people.

"We don't know yet, she was just taken to do some tests," he replied. "Just come here."

"I'm on my way" and hung up and immediately got into a taxi and asked the driver to take him to the hospital as soon as possible.

.

.

As soon as the glass doors opened, Harvey ran into the hospital and found his friends sitting at the reception, who promptly spotted him and got up.

"What happened? Where is she?" Harvey fired as he approached them both.

"I found her in your office, she said she was feeling a lot of pain in her abdomen and had a fever, we thought it was best to bring her to the hospital" Rachel replied.

"They took her to do some tests, but they still haven't returned," Mike explained and Harvey nodded.

"Thanks for bringing her" Harvey thanked and then the three sat down to wait.

When the doctor returned, Mike nudged Harvey saying that this was the doctor who was handling Donna's case. Harvey got up quickly and went towards him.

"Donna Paulsen?" DeLuca asked as soon as he saw Harvey and Donna's two friends he had met before.

"Yes" replied and shook the doctor's hand. "I'm Harvey Specter, her husband."

"Dr. Andrew DeLuca" said. "I am the one taking care of your wife."

"How is she?"

"The tests we did confirmed my suspicion of appendicitis," he replied as he checked Donna's chart again.

"I don't understand, she was fine until yesterday."

"Appendicitis is something that can evolve very quickly" DeLuca replied "Fortunately we detected it before the appendix ruptured, which would have been much worse."

"And now?" Rachel was the one who asked this time.

"She will need surgery, an appendectomy, where we will remove the appendix" Harvey and the others looked at each other worried that Donna would have to undergo surgery. "But you don't have to worry, appendectomy is a routine surgery and the fact that the appendix has not ruptured, makes our job much easier."

"Can we see her?" Harvey asked, because that was all he wanted to do at that moment.

"Sure" DeLuca then motioned for them to follow him. "She was allocated in a room and is already being prepared for surgery."

Donna watched as two nurses moved around the room, as it seemed, preparing for the surgery she would be doing soon, according to what her doctor had informed her. She then turned toward the door when it opened and sighed with relief when she saw Harvey enter behind the doctor, as did Mike and Rachel.

As soon as Harvey saw her, he ran to her side and kissed her on the forehead.

"How are you? Sorry I took so long to arrive."

"I'm ok now, they gave me the good stuff" and pointed to the IV line on her arm. "And don't worry, Mike and Rachel took good care of me" smiled at their friends who also approached her. "What matters is that you are here now."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else" he offered her a comforting smile and she returned it when the doctor interrupted them.

"Everything is ready, we will take her now" he informed.

Harvey then kissed Donna before they took her.

"Everything will be fine, I'll be here when you get back."

"We'll all be" Rachel replied with a smile.

"Thank you," Donna replied. "And please take care of him" and pointed to Harvey. "So that he doesn't go climbing the walls and threatens to sue someone if it takes too long" Harvey just made a face of false indignation as his friends laughed and promised to keep an eye on him.

Harvey escorted her to the doors that would lead to the OR corridor and gave her hand a final squeeze when they told him he would need to stay there and watched while they took Donna.

.

.

At the end of the day, Donna had been taken back to her room and Dr. DeLuca told them that surgery had been a success and that the chances were that Donna would make a full recovery.

Mike and Rachel stayed until the last moment when visiting hours allowed them, Harvey being Donna's husband, would stay with her for the night. The couple then made a promise to return early the next day, as it was Saturday and none of them would need to work, to see how their friend was doing.

Donna woke up sometime in the middle of the night, but went back to sleep quickly, as she was still very sleepy from the medications.

The next morning, while being examined, Dr. DeLuca informed her that there were no signs of infection and that everything seemed to be going well, but at some point during the follow night, Donna had a fever again and needed to receive more antibiotics, in order to treat a possible infection from the surgery.

But despite the doctors saying that everything had gone well during the surgery and that Donna showed no signs of a local infection, that the surgery incision was healing as expected, Donna's fever was still present despite the medications she was receiving.

Although she no longer feels that sharp pain in the abdomen, just a nuisance due to the surgery and she is very grateful for it, Donna still felt very tired as before, but like the others, all she wanted most was to go home.

.

.

On Monday morning, DeLuca consulted Dr. Bailey, so that she could help him in Donna's case, who still had some symptoms, but without an apparent explanation.

After the doctors' meeting, both DeLuca and Bailey went towards the patient's room, where they noticed some slightly exalted voices for the hospital environment when they arrived at the door.

As a nurse finished adjusting the IV on the patient's arm, who was talking to a brunette woman sitting next to her, Bailey watched as a tall man checked something on his cell phone, while another who appeared to be a few years younger than he was shaking his head.

"No, no, it was 3.584.169 times" the youngest replied to the other.

"No, it's 3.584.170 because you forgot the last one."

"I didn't forget the last one, because the last one was not considered which means that you lost! Owwwwww!" The younger one screamed and made a drop the mic gesture to the older one who frowned. "Harvey is getting old."

"Why don't we take advantage of being in a hospital and see how many bones the old man here can break in your body?" Harvey replied to Mike's comment, while pointing his fist at him.

"I heard that the old lady at the end of the hall breaks your record" the comment gave him a shove on his shoulder by the older one.

Donna only laughed at the two of them that now played wrestling like two unattended children, when she saw the doctors standing at the door.

"Please ignore them. One of the idiots has a photographic memory and the other idiot is my husband," she commented to the doctor she was not familiar with.

"Hey!" Harvey pretended to be offended and Donna just rolled her eyes.

Bailey laughed and moved closer to the bed, with DeLuca behind.

"I'm Harvey Specter, her husband" he approached the doctor and they both shook hands. Bailey then turned to DeLuca who started filing the case.

"Donna Paulsen, 35 years old, post-op day three after an appendectomy. She still has a fever and her white blood cell count is high. A sepsis test was performed, which came back negative."

"You said everything went well in the surgery, but still ..." Rachel, who was sitting in the chair next to Donna, commented.

"Yes, that's why I brought the chief of surgery to help us find out what's going on" DeLuca replied and then introduced Dr. Bailey.

"How are you feeling, Donna?" Bailey questioned the redhead.

"She has a sore throat" Harvey and Rachel replied at the same time, Donna faced both and then the doctors.

"It's just a little sore," she replied. "I'm probably just getting a cold."

"It could still be from the intubation," DeLuca commented.

"Could be," Bailey agreed.

"I know that the answer is probably "no," but is there any way you could just send me home with some antibiotics?"

"Sorry, but not until you've been fever-free for 24 hours" DeLuca replied ruefully.

"These idiots need to get back to work or they are going to go out of business," Donna commented and Harvey approached her, holding her hand.

"Don't worry about it, they've learned a thing or two with us" despite the concern Harvey was feeling, he still managed to make her laugh.

"Did you forget that I'm your boss?" Mike said behind him.

"This is still debatable," Harvey replied.

"We are running a fresh set of labs, and we hope to know more soon." DeLuca said and after a brief farewell he left the room with Bailey.

Harvey, who was still holding Donna's hand, leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead, offering a smile that she returned. Although they didn't know exactly what was going on with her, she knew it would be okay as long as Harvey and their friends were with her.

.

.

When the doctors received the new test results from Donna, they really saw that there was something wrong, but they were still uncertain on what the reason would be and because of that, they would need even more tests to reach a conclusion and now they were on their way to the room to update the family.

"Amy Adams, for sure" Rachel replied while Mike shook his head.

"Sarah Rafferty" replied while laughing with Harvey at his wife's indignant look. "Amy Adams is in Sharp Objects."

"Bullshit!" Rachel exclaimed and pulled the cell phone out of his hand to check the answer, just as the doctors entered the room, Donna quickly turned to them.

"Did you know that it was Sarah Rafferty who played the role of lawyer in that lawyers' tv show?" She asked.

"I knew" DeLuca replied raising his hand and Bailey agreed.

"Any chance you also know what's wrong with my friend?" Rachel said when the doctors got closer.

"Well, the labs showed your white counts are way up again. It's likely just an abscess developing in your abdomen," Bailey replied as he looked at the results on the tablet.

"We'd like to monitor you one more night, get a CT in the morning if things don't improve." DeLuca commented and Donna just nodded, because for now, there was nothing else they could do.

The next morning, the doctors decided to perform a CT scan, as Donna's fever had not subsided, and her white blood cell count was still high.

Harvey was sitting in the chair beside the bed, Rachel and Mike had gone to the firm in the morning, promising to visit her in the afternoon, when DeLuca and a male nurse appeared to prepare her for the exam.

"Can I ask for something?" Donna looked at her doctor while he checked something on her chart.

"Sure"

"I kind of don't like this type of exam, it gives me a lot of chills, I feel like I'm inside of a coffin, even though I've never been in one, so could you allow Harvey to go with me?"

Harvey, who had heard the request, looked at the doctor and waited for his response. DeLuca saw in the look of his patient that she really did not seem comfortable with the idea of doing the exam alone.

"Okay. He will have to wear a protection outfit, but he can accompany you."

"Thank you" Donna replied with a sigh of relief and looked at Harvey who gave her an encouraging smile.

Shortly thereafter, Donna was moved to the room where she would have the CT scan. Harvey received a large and heavy blue vest, which he would have to wear while in the room. As soon as Donna was placed inside the machine, the doctors headed for the next room, while Harvey stayed as close as he could to Donna.

"I definitely do not like it in here," Donna commented, as she heard the machine running.

"It will be over soon," Harvey said, trying to keep his tone as light as possible, in order to keep her calm. "Close your eyes and imagine that you are taking a mud bath with Louis."

"After we saw his mankini I don't think it will work" Harvey laughed. "My God, I was traumatized."

"And do you think I am not? I couldn't look him in the eye for a week" he heard when Donna laughed. "Do you remember that time when I dreamed that he was the judge at my hearing and that I was condemned to use his mankini?"

"I remember" Donna replied. "So much so that you vetoed all countries where swimwear is common when we were choosing a place to travel on our honeymoon."

"It will take me a while to get it out of my head" Donna just laughed and then, they heard Dr. Bailey's voice over the speaker asking Donna to take a deep breath and stay still. Harvey just watched and waited, until Bailey's voice resonated again, saying that she could release her breath.

"I am still vetoing these places for our first anniversary. I was thinking maybe some cold place this time, maybe in the mountains, where we can stand in front of the fireplace and drink wine," Harvey commented, but Donna didn't answer. "What do you think?" He asked, but she again did not answer. "Donna?"

Harvey leaned over trying to see inside the machine, but the distance he was in did not allow him to see much and when he was about to ask something, a loud noise sounded around the room. The monitor that was next to the machine and monitored Donna's blood pressure and heart rate began to blink and beep constantly.

"What is happening?" Harvey asked worriedly when the door to the next room opened quickly and Bailey and DeLuca came running towards Donna.

"I'm calling a code," DeLuca said, pushing a button on the wall, where a voice started to repeat code blue.

"Get her out! Get her out!" Bailey ordered when immediately through the door leading to the corridor, two nurses entered the room pushing an emergency cart full of medical supplies.

Harvey felt like his heart had stopped, he didn't know what was going on. A part of him wanted to run towards Donna, but the other instructed him to go back and make room for the medical team.

He saw when she was pulled out of the machine that she was unconscious and the constant noise from the monitor was very loud.

"Blood pressure's dropping," Bailey reported, moving to examine her neck, while DeLuca removed his stethoscope to listen to the heart. "Jugular venous distention."

"And muffled heart sounds" DeLuca replied as he moved the stethoscope across her chest.

"She's got cardiac tamponade," Bailey replied as she placed the air mask on Donna's face. "She's not going to make it to the OR. We need to aspirate her right here."

Leaning against the wall, Harvey saw how quickly the medical team moved while the feeling of helplessness overwhelmed him, for not being able to do anything to help the woman he loved most in the world.

"Okay, give me an 18-gauge needle on a syringe," DeLuca asked, as he wrapped the stethoscope around his neck again and the medical team prepared Donna for the procedure.

Harvey felt as if all the air had been drawn from his lungs when he saw the size of the needle and even more when he saw them prepare the center of Donna's chest for insertion.

"Betadine" DeLuca requested and the nurse who was assisting splashed the dark liquid on Donna's chest. "Inserting the needle," he warned, and then began to draw the liquid while Bailey still controlled the manual respirator.

Harvey's eyes burned at that moment with unshed tears. His whole world was lying on that bed and all he could do was look. A few seconds later, which seemed like hours, the constant noise of the monitor stopped and returned to normal, signaling that she was stable now.

While DeLuca handed the needle with the liquid to the nurse next to him, Bailey listened to the heart again. That was when DeLuca realized that Harvey was still in the room and went towards him, taking him out of the room effortlessly. Harvey was too anesthetized to argue.

"Just breathe" he heard the doctor tell him after some time out of the room and he struggled to follow his guidance, he had been so disoriented with everything that he didn't even realize the vest he was wearing was removed from him. "I know it was scary, but we managed to stabilize her. Now we're going to move her to the ICU and monitor her closely." Harvey just nodded. "As soon as we allocate her, I'll come and call you."

Again, he just nodded and saw when the doctor came back into the room and shortly afterwards, he pushed the bed where Donna was, still unconscious. He followed with his eyes as far as he could, and it was only then that he managed to move and headed towards the waiting room.

.

.

Rachel and Mike were walking down the hospital corridors towards Donna's room when they saw Harvey sitting on one of the chairs in the floor's waiting room. They realized that his eyes were red and that he did not look well.

"Harvey?" Rachel called out to him, who immediately turned towards his friends and had to restrain himself from crying again. "What happened?" He stood up and looked at their worried expressions.

"She didn't get better overnight, so they took her for a CT scan, and I went with her" he took a deep breath before continuing. "But then I don't know what happened, we were talking and suddenly she was no longer responding and everything started to beep and they had to get her out of there and stuck a huge needle in her chest..." Harvey hesitated when he relived the moment and didn't even notice the tears on his face.

Mike then made him sit down again and calm down before asking again.

"What happened next? Where is she now?"

"They apparently managed to stabilize her but took her to the ICU to monitor her. I don't know anything else" he replied while wiping his face, and both sat down next to his friend.

"Donna is strong, you will see, she will get out of this" Mike said to his friend while Rachel who was at his side agreed.

"Thank you" Harvey said and then they waited, because that was all they could do for now.

Later, when the doctors finally showed up, Harvey stood up as if the chair were on fire and went towards them, accompanied by his friends.

"How is she?"

"The CT revealed no abscess or infection from the surgery, but there was fluid around her heart, which we were able to remove," Bailey replied.

"So, she's okay? She's going to be okay?" Rachel asked.

" It was a temporary measure. Unfortunately..." DeLuca took a deep breath. "We still don't know the cause. "

"Well, how long 'til you do know?" Rachel asked again. She was extremely concerned about her friend and the lack of resolution.

"We're sending the fluid we aspirated from the heart to the lab. We'll also send new blood cultures," Bailey replied. "We'll keep looking, but at this point, we just don't know. I'm so sorry."

"Can we see her?" Harvey asked anxiously.

"Yes, but just for a little while. Because of the aspiration, she needs to stay in the ICU for a while and we cannot risk infection" when everyone agreed, they were taken to the ward where Donna has been placed.

Mike and Rachel remained at the door, while Harvey approached the side of the bed, but not really approaching, as instructed. Donna was lying on her side and despite everything, she smiled when she saw Harvey beside her.

"Hey" he greeted her.

"Hey you" replied.

She was extremely pale and with dark circles under her eyes, but Harvey didn't care at all, just seeing her alive after what he had witnessed was all that mattered to him. Donna saw how swollen Harvey's eyes were and his expression a mixture of exhausted and worried.

"Hey, don't worry, okay? I'll be fine." Harvey nodded and struggled to stay strong in front of her.

"You promise?"

"I promise" she then looked at the friends standing at the door, who waved at her and she smiled. She didn't really know if she was going to be okay, but she sure would fight for it, she couldn't allow Harvey to lose anyone else.

Everyone is leaving, Donna.

She remembered what he said to her years ago and she could not allow that to be true.

"Right? Are you going to figure this out?" Donna asked in a choked voice to Dr. Bailey who was also by her side. Bailey then looked at Donna and then at Harvey and saw the plea and fear in her eyes and as much as she was instructed from day one not to make promises, she did.

"Yes, we are going to figure this out," Bailey said and saw a little hope come into their eyes.

Shortly afterwards she instructed that everyone should leave. So they said goodbye to Donna and as they could not stay there, they went home, hoping to be able to take her with them soon.

.

.

When the chances of an infection decreased, Donna was transferred to a room in the cardiac ward. Despite all he wanted most was to be able to take Donna home, Harvey had to be content with that, because at least he could always be by his wife side and his friends could see her.

Harvey had to warn Donna's parents about the situation, how a simple surgery had turned out to be, as well as Louis, who threatened to take the first flight to Seattle when he heard about it, but Harvey managed to stop him by promising to keep him informed.

Unfortunately, Donna's condition did not seem to improve and she was constantly undergoing several tests, Rachel did not seem very happy to see her friend undergo all of this and the lack of answers, but Harvey knew they were doing everything they could to find out.

While she and Rachel talked about travel destinations, Harvey was helping Donna to settle and tucking her in, when Dr. DeLuca appeared in the bedroom, greeting them. He knew that Donna's friend was not happy with the delay in finding a solution to the problem.

"Good morning Donna, how are you feeling?" He asked and she glanced at her friend.

"She's been digging up dirt on you," she commented.

"It's called research" Rachel defended herself, sitting on the chair. "And it wasn't even that difficult."

Harvey and Donna just exchanged an amused look between them and didn't comment.

"Well, for now, blood cultures and ELISA came back negative for the diseases we were investigating and the lymph node biopsy's clear as well. Which means there is no lymphoma," DeLuca said, looking at the chart.

Although they still haven't found the cause of what was making Donna so sick, she and Harvey felt a little relief when they discovered that cancer was not the cause. Before anyone could say anything, a dark-haired doctor came into the room and placed a tablet on the table and pressed a few commands without saying anything. Everyone looked at her in confusion when she pointed at her ears and started making gestures that she was speaking in ASL and then a voice coming from the tablet spoke.

"I'm Dr. Lauren Riley. I'm here for a consult," she informed everyone in the room and then turned to Donna. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Specter."

"Donna" replied. "And you are..."

"She is our master diagnostician." DeLuca answered.

"Thank God" Rachel commented and just received a look from Harvey.

"I'm going to ask about a billion questions and run even more tests. I will annoy you greatly, but in the end, it will be worth it, okay?" Riley informed Donna and she nodded.

"I like you already."

"Me too," Harvey said, sitting on the edge of the bed and interlacing his hand with Donna's.

"I want a full autoimmune panel, a pericardial fluid culture, and a cytology. Immediately!"

"We already did those," DeLuca replied.

"Do them again and page cardio. I need to know why the fluid is building up because it will happen again."

"Wow, the competence is just slapping me in the face right now!" Rachel commented again and this time she received a look from both Harvey and Donna, she just raised her hands and said nothing more.

While DeLuca was rushing to get what Dr. Riley had asked for, she did what she said she would do, asked Donna and Harvey several questions in order to gather as much information as possible. Shortly thereafter, DeLuca returned with Dr. Pierce of cardiology. After a brief conversation between the two doctors, Pierce said she would do an ultrasound on Donna to check the fluid in her heart.

As Donna was being prepared, Riley continued with the questions.

"You have lost almost 25 pounds in the last year. Were you dieting?" Harvey looked surprised to hear how much Donna had grown thin. Of course, he had noticed, but he didn't imagine it would be so much in such a short time.

"I got married, moved to the other side of the country and changed jobs, all in less than 3 months. Is that a diet?" Donna responded by trying to sound amused and Harvey just shook his head in amusement.

"And you haven't gained the weight back?" Riley continued while Pierce applied the gel to the area and examined it.

"No" she answered. "I think if I try, I can wear my prom dress again."

"Stop it" Harvey nudged her, trying to look amused, but he was concerned about her health history. He then accepted the paper sheets that Dr. Pierce handed him and helped Donna clean the gel when the exam was over.

"What did you see, Dr. Pierce?" DeLuca questioned and everyone then looked at her.

"That's not a good face," Donna commented as she looked at the cardiologist.

"There's too much fluid. I need to do a pericardial window," Pierce replied.

"Okay, I need the dummy words," Donna replied, when Harvey once again took her hand. She wasn't sure if he did it to comfort her or to comfort himself, but whatever the reason was, she just wanted him to never let go.

" It is a procedure in which I make a small hole in the membrane around your heart to prevent fluid from accumulating."

"And what are the risks?" Harvey asked.

"Every procedure involves risks and can have complications, but this procedure is a simple one, so the chances of something going wrong are very low" Donna and Harvey nodded to the doctor. "Dr. DeLuca will prepare you for when we are ready."

"Ok" Donna replied and took a deep breath, she couldn't deny that she was nervous about having to undergo another surgical treatment.

"See you later" the doctor then said goodbye and left.

.

.

"What do you think of this one?" Harvey asked, while showing Donna pictures of a cabin in the mountains on his cell phone, while lying beside her on the hospital bed.

"I liked it, but I think I prefer the previous one, with the infinity pool on the balcony."

"Me too. I will send an email asking about dates" he said but hesitated after a moment. "Or do you think it's still too early?"

Donna turned to Harvey and saw the question in his eyes. She knew that despite trying to maintain a positive attitude, he was concerned about her and the procedure she would do that day, because as the hours passed, she got worse and no one could find out what was going on.

"No, I think you should send" and smiled at him in an attempt to calm him down, who just nodded and turned his attention back to his cell phone. She took his hand and squeezed. "You don't need to worry. They said wit wouldn't take long."

"That's right, we'll have her out in less than an hour" Dr. DeLuca who was also in the room replied.

"Where are Mike and Rachel?" Donna questioned.

"They needed to go to the firm but said they will be here when you leave the operating room."

Before Donna could answer, the bedroom door opened, and a familiar face appeared.

"Louis!" Donna and Harvey exclaimed when they saw their friend enter. Harvey got up to greet him and then Louis went to the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Donna asked, still surprised.

"What? You didn't get better and are going to your second surgery, do you really think I wouldn't come to see you?" He replied, his gaze steady, saying that he would not accept lectures for leaving everything behind to support his friend. "We are a family."

"Thank you" Donna thanked him and Louis squeezed her hand. "It's good to see you."

"You too, even if the circumstances are not the best" he looked at both and then he remembered. "I brought something" he fiddled with the bag he was carrying. "Sheila was the one who came up with the idea. She and Lucy want you to get better soon."

Donna opened the small package that Louis had given her and took out a golden necklace with a small angel, which had the words World's Best Godmother engraved on the back.

"Thank you Louis, it's beautiful" Donna smiled and thanked her friend again. At that moment, Dr. Pierce appeared in the room.

"We're ready," she said, and then Donna put the necklace back in the bag and handed it to Harvey so he could keep it.

"Ready?" DeLuca asked as he approached and pulled the bed rails, so they could take her. Donna nodded and then looked at Harvey.

"We'll be here when you get back" and kissed her forehead. Louis gave her another squeeze and waved at her when the doctors finally took her.

Harvey thanked his friend again, it was good not to be alone.

.

.

Donna took a deep breath and looked around at the busy room. The place was cold and there were several people in there, always doing something, checking instruments, monitors, medicines. She couldn't say exactly why, but she was more nervous than the first time. Perhaps the lack of answers, the frightened look on both Harvey and Louis, or the possibility of complications, were leaving her like this.

When the other doctor in the room, Dr. Knox, greeted Dr. Pierce and congratulated her on being back, it didn't help on her nervous state.

"Back?" She looked at the doctor, who was now covering her with a blanket. "What does he mean "back"? Where were you, and how long were you gone? Are you rusty? Because–" she asked.

"No, I..." Pierce tried to answer, but was fortunately interrupted by DeLuca.

"Don't worry, she took a break, a short break and now she's well-rested and she's ready," he replied, offering a smile. "And, Donna, Dr. Pierce is an extraordinary surgeon, you're in very good hands."

"Okay Donna?" Pierce asked and she nodded, then gave the command to the anesthesiologist who was sitting behind Donna. "Count back from 10 for me", but before he managed to put the mask on Donna's face, she pushed him away gently.

"Thirteen years" she said "thirteen years that Harvey and I worked together before we finally admitted how we felt about each other" she took a deep breath before continuing. "Less than a year ago we got married on the same day he proposed me because we didn't want to waste any more time. He lost both parents and Louis just had a baby girl" her voice was now choked. "Once I got mad at Harvey and went to work for Louis and because of that he had panic attacks, so he will never recover if I don't make it off this table" Despite the fear she felt, her voice was firm in her request. "So you can't let me die. Got that?" She looked again at both doctors at her side "they need me."

"Donna, we've got you." Pierce comforted her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

With the confirmation that they would do anything to keep her alive, Donna then just nodded and allowed the anesthesiologist to put the mask on her face, a few seconds later she allowed herself to close her eyes and be taken into the darkness.

.

.

When the surgery – which had been a success – was over, Donna was moved back to her room, where in addition to Harvey and Louis, Mike and Rachel were also waiting for her.

At the end of the day, when Donna had already regained consciousness, both doctors DeLuca and Riley went to the room to check on her and inform them of what would be the next step in her treatment.

Harvey was standing with Donna when the doctors started.

"The surgery went well, but just like before, it was only a temporary measure," DeLuca said. "We want to remove all of your treatments. All antibiotics, antifungals and steroids."

"Wait, what?" Harvey questioned.

"We've already tested for infectious diseases, malignancies, and autoimmune disorders," Riley continued. "And now we're at the point where we have to consider there's some clue that's being suppressed by the medication. We need it to present itself."

"This can only be a joke" Louis commented.

"You said you wouldn't give up" Donna said looking at Riley.

"She's not giving up" DeLuca replied. "We will be monitoring you the entire time."

"You want to take my friend off all her medication how is that not giving up?!" Rachel was the one who spoke, looking at both doctors.

"As symptoms arise, we'll treat them." DeLuca then looked back at Donna. "It's scary, I know."

"You don't know about anything," Louis replied nervously. "We should transfer her to another hospital, I've never seen something like this before."

"Everyone, be quiet!" Harvey screamed and looked at everyone. He felt it when Donna took his hand and looked at him in fright, he could also see that she was asking him what she should do.

"If I say yes," Donna asked, turning to Dr. DeLuca. "What's going to happen?"

"We will remove you from all of your medication. And... you will get sicker, and you'll feel more pain" he replied. "I know I'm asking you to make an incredibly difficult decision, and I'm sorry," he said, looking at both Donna and Harvey.

That was when Dr. Riley approached Harvey and spoke directly to him.

"I know that you are considered one of the best in your field and that you want nothing less than the best for your wife and that's why I'm talking to you, because I'm the best in my field and I know that in this situation, I would like my best friend by my side to help me make that decision," she said, as her translator's voice rang out across the room.

"Your wife's immune system is too compromised for her to be moved safely" she then looked quickly at Louis before continuing. "And even if we could move her, as I said, you wouldn't find anyone better than me, because you may have noticed that my ears don't work, but because of that, I have learned to listen with my whole body," she continued. "When the medications are gone, the disease can start talking so I can figure out what is wrong with your wife and hopefully, we can save her life."

When the doctor finished speaking, despite the fear he was feeling and he knew Donna and the others too, he knew she was right. He then turned to Donna, and didn't need to say anything, because as usual, she knew exactly what he meant, without having to utter a single word.

"You have my permission," she replied to Dr. Riley. "Withdraw everything."

The doctors then looked at each other and agreed, from that moment on, Donna would not receive any more medication, and everyone hoped that with that, they could find a solution for Donna. Nobody said anything else, after all, it was only the couple's decision, Harvey just sat next to Donna on the bed, hugging her sideways, she leaning her head on his shoulder, while they watched the doctors remove her medication and wait to what was to come.

.

.

Two days after the doctors decided that they would withdraw Donna's medication, her condition worsened considerably. For Harvey and their friends, it was very difficult to see her, who had always been a woman full of energy and was always cheer, in that situation.

The pain got worse, the nurses were constantly poking her for more and more exams that never seemed to end. Donna was exhausted, barely able to sleep properly and the pain, fever and nausea did not seem to end.

Louis decided that he would stay in the city for as long as necessary. He assured Donna that Sheila didn't care, that she knew he needed to be there. So he, Mike and Rachel helped Harvey, taking turns to stay with her, while he went home to change clothes and eat something, which were the only things Harvey allowed himself to do.

He was always by her side, helping her with whatever was needed. And as much as he tried to show strength, Donna knew how much he was suffering from that situation and wanted to be able to comfort him, but she was so tired and in so much pain, that the little energy she had left, she tried to keep a brave face for him.

On the morning of the third day, Dr. DeLuca went into Donna's room to check how she had spent the night, she could also notice the tiredness on his face, who along with Dr. Riley, were running against time to find a solution.

Harvey got up from where he was sitting and approached the bed when the doctor entered. Donna's eyes were half closed and she was paler than usual, the dark circles in her eyes had also gotten worse.

"How did she spend the night?" He asked as he checked the chart.

"Fever, she couldn't eat because she said she was very nauseous and ended up throwing up all night and early in the morning she started to complain that her arms and chest were burning" Harvey replied to the doctor while stroking his wife's red locks.

"Donna, I'm going to examine you, okay?" Donna just shook her head.

When DeLuca lifted the blanket so he could see Donna's arms, they were covered in small welts, swollen and red, hives, another symptom of whatever it was she had. He also examined the cervix and found that it was also in the same condition. Harvey sighed when he saw them.

As soon as DeLuca finished examining her, he wrote down the new information on the chart and turned to Harvey.

"As we cannot inject any type of medication, we are going to treat the hives with an ointment for now. And whatever else comes up, let me know" Harvey agreed and saw the doctor leave.

Shortly thereafter, Louis arrived, but was soon removed from the room by Harvey, due to his reaction to seeing Donna's new symptoms. He warned that if Louis couldn't handle it, he couldn't stay there, as it wouldn't help. Louis agreed and promised he wouldn't do or say anything that would make Donna worse, and they went back inside.

Donna knew that her friend was one of the most who was having more difficulties in seeing her in that situation, because as he always said, he was the most emotional and as much as he tried, sometimes he could not hide what he was feeling.

Harvey tried to get Donna to eat something, but all she managed to do was eat a jelly. Louis was trying to distract Donna in the best way possible, he was sitting at the foot of the bed with his cell phone in hand and with her help, he was trying to choose a costume for Lucy's first Halloween.

Later, Dr. DeLuca returned for another blood draw. When he finished and was tagging everything so he could take it to the lab, Louis still talking about costumes, Donna felt what had now become a very familiar sensation for her, the burning sensation took over her stomach and she knew she didn't have much time.

"Louis" she called him who immediately looked at her. "Can you get me a soda?"

"Sure" Louis then got up and left the room towards the machines.

As soon as Donna saw Louis walk out the door, she turned toward the basin beside her on the bed and threw up. In a matter of seconds Harvey came up beside her, holding her, while DeLuca handed him a blue cloth and he helped her wipe her mouth and lay back on the bed. Donna sighed tiredly.

"All right" Harvey comforted her, running a hand through her hair and then turned to DeLuca, his eyes full of pleading. "I know you said no medicine, but..." Donna couldn't keep almost anything in her stomach and it was already becoming very frequent.

"I will speak with Dr. Riley," he informed, Harvey thanked him and then he went to the nursing station in front of the room, where the doctor was.

"Can we give her something for the nausea, please?" He asked.

"We are not suppressing her symptoms we're studying them," she replied.

"Okay, but she is suffering" and pointed to Donna, who was once again being supported by Harvey while she was throwing up once more.

"Suffering is better than dying. We need the diagnosis, DeLuca" she replied before leaving. "Stay the course."

DeLuca then went back to the bedroom and shook his head when Harvey stared at him.

"I'm sorry" Harvey just sighed tiredly.

When yet another wave of nausea hit Donna and she was forced to lean down to the basin once again, Louis returned to the bedroom and stopped at the door when he saw the scene. He saw his friend in pain and then saw Harvey plead with eyes for him to keep from making a scene while helping Donna to lie down again.

Louis took a deep breath and promised himself that he could handle it. If Donna was struggling to get over it, he knew he could be there for her without screwing it up.

"Well..." he started. "I think it was good then that I brought a ginger ale" and showed the green can in his hand. Harvey then offered him a weak smile, thanking him.

"Thank you" he then accepted the drink and opened it, pasting a straw and offering it to Donna. "Take it, honey."

Donna accepted the drink and Harvey sat beside her, with Louis again at the end of the bed, with an encouraging smile.

.

.

In the afternoon of the following day, Rachel was keeping Donna's company, while Harvey had left to fetch a coffee. Although the nausea had subsided a little, she still felt worse with each passing minute. The color had completely escaped his face, which was sweaty from fever and the pains seemed to have no end. There were days when she couldn't even hold Harvey's hand and with each passing day, she became more concerned that her time was running out.

Rachel was helping her straighten up on the bed when Harvey returned.

"Anything?" He asked.

"No," Rachel replied, as she adjusted the covers.

"Harvey, did you get to call my parents?" Donna asked when he kissed her on the forehead.

"No, I'm sorry" he sighed. "I forgot" Harvey was also exhausted, sometimes, at times when Donna managed to get some sleep, he couldn't because he was afraid to close his eyes and that something would happen.

"It's okay," she replied. "I know that these calls are not always easy."

Her parents, like everyone else, were worried about her, but Donna didn't want her parents to see her like that, she didn't want them to go through this, it was hard enough to have to see the pain in her husband's eyes and her friends. So Harvey always kept them up to date, but sometimes worry made them difficult to deal with and she couldn't blame them.

"Hey" Rachel caught her attention. "Why don't we shoot a video of you and send it to them?" She offered.

"I don't know" Donna knew that her appearance was not good and that it could scare her parents even more.

"We can use one of those Snapchat filters," she said, and Donna looked at Harvey who shrugged.

"It could be a good idea," he replied.

"Okay, then" she settled on the bed, while Rachel took out her cell phone and chose a filter that would slightly disguise the pallor and dark circles for her to use.

"Okay, let's do it" Rachel pointed the camera at Donna and started recording.

"Hi mom, hi dad..." she started to speak, but was interrupted by Rachel.

"Oh stop, it's doing something" she laughed when she saw lasers coming out of her friend's eyes and stopped recording.

At that moment, Dr. DeLuca made his appearance in the room.

"All right, well, we've ruled out a lot of bad things, which is a good sign, but I do need to draw some more blood for a few more tests," he informed her and Donna just nodded tiredly.

"Does she have any left?" Rachel commented while looking at the doctor.

"Rachel" Donna caught her attention, while DeLuca prepared the utensils for the exam. "Come on. I barely have enough energy for this."

"Sorry" she replied and just received a look from Harvey. "Okay, let's do it again" she then pointed the phone at her friend again and started recording.

"Hi mom, hi dad! It's me Donna, I just want you to know that I..." but before she could continue, she was interrupted by Rachel again.

"No, wait. It's doing something to your mouth" Rachel observed through the camera, that the filter was making her mouth red, but when she lowered her phone and looked at Donna, she realized that it was not the result of the filter, but that her mouth was really red.

"Huh? What?" Donna asked when she noticed her friend's confused expression when she exclaimed.

"Oh my God! Oh my God, her mouth is bleeding!" Upon hearing this, Harvey and DeLuca immediately ran over to Donna.

"What?" Donna asked in confusion, putting her hand over her mouth and realizing that she was actually bleeding. Harvey held a tissue and a small basin beside her, while DeLuca took the small flashlight out of his pocket.

"Open your mouth for me, Donna" and so she did. "No, no, no, no," DeLuca said as he examined her.

"What is happening?" Harvey asked.

"I'm not sure" DeLuca replied and ran to check the chart.

Harvey then offered the basin to Donna, who spat on it. Rachel exclaimed when she saw her friend spit blood and handed Harvey a few more tissues that he used to clean Donna's mouth.

"Oh! Platelet count went from 250 to 5. All of her cell counts are down," DeLuca commented to himself without understanding as he examined the chart, but loud enough that everyone could hear.

"What does it mean?" Harvey questioned the doctor.

"I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't know" he replied and saw the concern in their eyes and took a deep breath, thinking. "Can someone page Dr. Riley, please? We need to prep for a bone-marrow biopsy right now."

Within minutes, Riley entered the room and was informed of what was going on and just like DeLuca, examined Donna again before agreeing with him.

"Mr. Specter" DeLuca called to him, as a medical team entered the room to prepare Donna for the exam. "Her platelet count is very low, so to find out what's causing this we're going to need to do a bone-marrow biopsy" Donna was also listening. "We can do it right here, we will give her a light sedation and take a sample in the hip area. You don't have to worry, it's a quick and simple exam."

Harvey and Donna both nodded to the doctor.

"But unfortunately, you can't stay here while we do it," he said. "But as soon as we're done, I'll come and inform you."

"Okay" he then said goodbye to Donna and together with Rachel left the room towards the waiting room.

.

.

As soon as the exam was over, DeLuca informed them that they could go back to the room and that Donna would wake up at any moment.

"Is she going to be okay?" Harvey asked when he saw his wife sleeping.

"We will know more when the biopsy results come back. For now she may feel a little more pain due to the exam. We are doing everything possible for her."

"Thank you" Harvey once again thanked him and joined Donna.

When she finally woke up, she saw Harvey sitting next to her and he offered her a smile when he saw her eyes open.

"Hey"

"Hi," she replied in a weak voice.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore"

"They said it was normal."

"What is normal for me these days?" She said humorously, Harvey just smiled.

"You'll be fine, you'll see," he replied seriously this time, kissing her hand next.

"You think?"

"Yes, I do" he replied with another smile. "Because just as you have faith in me, I have faith in you" Donna smiled. "You need to get well soon, okay? We have our first anniversary to plan."

"Okay" Donna agreed.

.

.

By the end of the day, Donna had gotten worse in a way that Harvey hadn't seen in any day they were there. Her strength seemed to be wearing thin and more and more she looked less like the person who had once approached him in a bar.

Harvey had to be taken out of the room by his friends when he threatened to get a nurse fired, when she was doing another battery of tests and saw tears streaming down Donna's face, who for the first time in days cried and gave in to everything that was happening and begged not to be poked anymore.

Mike and Louis took him to the waiting room, while Rachel stayed with Donna.

"You need to stay here for a while," Mike said, as he watched Harvey pacing back and forth in an attempt to calm himself. "Staying in that room all the time is not doing you any good."

"It's just..." he tried to answer, but the words didn't seem to come.

"I know it's not easy to see Donna in this situation, but you need to take care of yourself too," he replied. "She needs you well."

"How can I be okay with her suffering and me here without being able to do anything?" Harvey screamed and the two just stared at him. Harvey then realized what he had done and took a deep breath, throwing himself into the chair.

"You may not have a medical degree, Harvey, but you're here with her, every second, every change and that's all that matters to her" Louis said.

Harvey agreed and stayed in the waiting room with them, until the time that Rachel came up and joined them and informed them that Donna was sleeping.

At some point, with the four of them sitting in the waiting room, they found themselves laughing and talking about moments they shared with Donna.

"You guys needed to see the face on the guy from IT," Harvey commented laughing as he remembered the moment.

"Benjamin?" Mike asked.

"Yes" replied. "That woman when she wants to, she can be worse than a guy in the club."

The others laughed at Harvey's comment, but immediately after they were silent, not knowing what else to say, because at some point, not by choice, but due to the situation, each of them thought what their lives would be like without Donna close by.

Everything in their lives only seemed to have worked out due to her unique presence and her talent for reading people. She was always by their side when they needed it most and to imagine a world where they could not turn to her and feel her support, it felt like an empty world.

"I just..." Harvey sighed before continuing, after a while of silence. "She always tells me not to think about the 'what ifs', but sometimes I can't help feeling regret for all those years apart and now, at a time like this, I..." Rachel who was sitting next to him squeezed his arm slightly.

"You are here now and that is what matters" she said.

"Rachel is right," Mike confirmed. "You are with her now, when she needs you most. And do you remember what she said at your wedding?" He said and Harvey just looked at him. "It doesn't matter if it's a minute, a year, fifty years or even a hundred, it will never be time enough."

All Harvey could do was to thank his friends for their support and hope that things would take their course.

After a while, a movement caught the attention of those present, who turned towards the double door that gave access to one of the hospital's corridors. They saw when Dr. DeLuca and Dr. Riley came running and went through the door towards them.

"We found out! We found out!" DeLuca said almost breathlessly when he saw the four of them there.

"What?" Harvey asked in astonishment as he stood up.

"The bone-marrow biopsy came back with hemophagocytosis. This is MAS, Macrophage Activation Syndrome. Her white cells are eating her other blood cells. It is a complication seen in Still's disease, rare, extremely rare" he replied, trying to catch his breath. "Come on, we need to treat her as soon as possible."

Harvey and the others, who understood only a part of all the medical jargon that had been said there, did not wait another second and followed the doctors towards Donna's room.

But before they could get to the bedroom door, a commotion had formed there. A medical team pushing a cart with medical equipment just like the one Harvey had seen in the exam room, headed towards Donna's room. Harvey and the others remained at the door, while DeLuca and Riley entered the room.

Donna was unconscious and was being examined by Dr. Grey and Dr. Bailey, who was holding an oxygen mask over Donna's face. Harvey looked at the monitor beside her and saw that like the first time, it was blinking and beeping constantly.

"What is happening?" Harvey asked the doctors in the room.

Dr. Grey was examining her and turned to DeLuca and Riley.

"She has arrhythmia, her heart can't take it."

"Blood pressure dropping," Bailey reported.

"We need to stabilize her to apply the treatment," Riley said.

"Give me an intubation tray," Bailey asked the nurse at her side.

Harvey just watched the situation in front of him paralyzed, in the background, he could hear Rachel crying beside Mike. When the nurse handed the tray to Dr. Bailey, the monitor's noise went from a constant beep to an uninterrupted noise, warning that the heart had stopped beating.

At that moment, Harvey felt his entire body freeze when he saw Dr. Grey begin the CPR in Donna.

"No, no, no, no" Dr. DeLuca exclaimed when he saw what was going on. "I need a crash cart!"

The medical team immediately made their way to Donna and, together with the doctors, prepared Donna for CPR. Despair then overtook Harvey, the tears now flowed steadily and he couldn't tell who, whether it was Louis or Mike, probably Mike, but he was sure he would have hit the floor if he hadn't been held at that moment.

"Charge in 300" DeLuca instructed, while Bailey removed the oxygen mask and replaced it with the manual ventilation mask.

As soon as everything was ready, DeLuca received the paddles and shouted for everyone to move away. Harvey watched through the tears as Donna's body bent with shock.

"Again" DeLuca ordered when the monitor still showed no sign of a beat. "Clear."

And again and again and again, her body bowed, another vial was injected, hands massaged her chest, orders were given, but nothing happened and Harvey just stopped and silently asked, please.

He had never considered himself a religious person, but at that moment, his soul and heart pleaded, please.

Memories of the fifteen years they spent together flashed through his mind, please.

All lost moments and unspoken words screamed in his head, please.

The constant hum of the monitor was deafening, please.

Her smile when he wakes up in the morning, please.

_Please._

.

.

When everything seemed to be hopeless, silence took over the place, when the incessant noise stopped and no more voices were heard and Harvey in those few seconds realized that the silence was a thousand times worse, it was as if the world had stopped and given up. But it was in that short time, when everything changed, because in a matter of seconds, the silence was replaced by a short and slow, but constant sound.

"Heart beating!" Said Dr. Grey.

"We don't have much time" DeLuca exclaimed and turned to Dr. Riley who was behind him and handed him a syringe. The doctor quickly went to the intravenous line connected to Donna.

"What are you doing?" Grey asked him.

"I am giving her a high dose of steroids" DeLuca replied while applying the medication. "It should make her feel better almost immediately."

It was then that Harvey felt as if he had been submerged on the water for hours and finally reached the surface and could breathe.

"She will need to be monitored, but if everything goes well, she should be fine now" DeLuca said and only then did Harvey realize that he was talking to him. "We will know more when she wakes up."

"Okay" he replied, still a little disoriented and as soon as he was given permission, he moved to stand beside Donna, who was still unconscious and intubated, but the constant resonance of the monitor told him that her heart was beating, she was alive.

He stayed by her side until her eyes started to open. Donna tried to reach the tube in her mouth but was stopped by Harvey.

"She wants to remove the tube. Can we take it out?" He asked the doctor who was on the other side of the bed.

"She's already breathing on her own," replied DeLuca. "Let's take it out" he then prepared everything he needed to remove the tube. "Donna, I'm going to remove the tube, but I need you to stay calm and breathe slowly, okay?"

Donna nodded and Harvey took her hand when the doctor started to withdraw and held her while she coughed and breathed again on her own. When her breathing returned to normal, he helped her to lie down on the bed again.

"Harvey" she called out to him in a weak voice and he smoothed her red locks and didn't mind that he was crying again.

"Hi" he smiled at her. "How are you feeling?"

"My chest hurts" she replied.

"You'll be a little uncomfortable for a few days," DeLuca replied, as he checked her out. "You had a cardiac arrest, but we brought you back" with that, Donna turned to Harvey and understood why the tears on his face.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, okay?" He asked and Donna only agreed when she saw her friends at the foot of her bed, all of them with relieved expressions despite the tears.

.

.

The next day, Donna was sitting on the bed, with Harvey by her side, while Dr. DeLuca finished listening to her chest again. Gradually the color returned to Donna's face and she could tell that she felt better than before.

"You look like a new person," he said, as he put the stethoscope away.

"I feel like one. God, I feel alive again!" Donna exclaimed happily and looked at Harvey who squeezed her hand.

"So, um, was it the appendectomy that gave her the Still's disease?" Rachel asked from her seat in the chair.

"Oh, no, we suspect she had it before," he replied. "The flu-like symptoms and the fatigue, that's all a part of it."

"And I thought it was the fact that I moved to a city that is constantly raining and the newly married life that was making me tired" everyone in the room laughed at Donna's response and she could see Harvey blush beside her.

"Your innate immune system was in overdrive," DeLuca continued. "And the high-dose steroids are bringing that back to normal, but you can't stay on those forever."

"So, then what's next?" She asked.

"We're going to set you up with a rheumatologist. People with Still's disease can live very full lives, we just need to get you on the right medication."

"Look, I already knew that I was incredible, but a rare disease?" Donna said "A total exaggeration" again everyone laughed and were happy to see Donna return to herself slowly.

It was not long before Donna was visited by the rheumatologist, who had a long conversation with her and Harvey about the disease and its treatment and assured them that everything would be fine as long as Donna follows the instructions to the letter and takes her medication, then everything would go back to normal.

With the medication now settled and a follow-up schedule set for every six months, Donna stayed just a few more days in the hospital under observation and with each passing day, Harvey could see the change in his wife, slowly he could see her return to being the person he had known.

The day before Donna was discharged, Harvey returned to the hospital in the morning after preparing everything for her return, he went towards Donna's room, who was no longer in the cardiac ward and was surprised by what he saw when he entered.

The room was filled with flowers of the most diverse sizes and colors. Rachel was trying to find a place for a vase of purple tulips among the other flowers.

"Wow!" He exclaimed as he looked around.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Donna asked, reading one of the cards.

"Yes, and many, too," he replied, examining a vase with red begonias. "You can open your own flower shop." Donna laughed and accepted the other card that Rachel had given her.

"Aww, these are from Stu Buzzini" pointed to the vase full of yellow roses. "So sweet" Harvey just stared at her and turned to the rest of the flowers.

"Who else sent it?"

"The orchid came from Jessica, the chrysanthemums from Sean Cahill" Harvey raised his eyebrows in surprise "the lilies came from Michael."

"Michael?" Harvey asked, just like the first time he saw Donna refer to the player by his first name.

"Yes" she replied with a smile and continued. "The roses came from Zane, that big one in the corner belongs to everyone at Litt Wheeler Williams Bennett, the tulips came from my parents" she pointed to the vase that Harvey had seen Rachel trying to find a place as soon as he arrived. "The daisies are from the theater staff and the others are from clients from the PSL era and some from Zane Ross. Oh, and the DA's office too!" She then turned to Harvey. "And you, which one did you bring?"

"What?" He asked, confused and a little astonished that he might have screwed up. "Do you want more flowers?"

Donna just looked at him with an expression that said Seriously? and she could tell that Harvey was starting to sweat and then she burst out laughing with Rachel by her side.

"You're not funny," Harvey replied, placing a kiss on her head and sitting beside her on the bed. "I, on the other hand, brought something better than flowers."

"What?" She asked excitedly, when Harvey handed her a package.

Donna removed a dark blue velvet box from the package and when she opened it she saw that it was a golden bracelet, with a thin chain that held a rectangular plate in the middle, also golden, with some delicate gemstone on top and behind the words 'whitout you i'm empty' were recorded.

"Harvey, it's beautiful" Donna examined the gift and he could see that she had tears in her eyes. He then took the bracelet from her hands and placed it on her wrist. "Thank you" She thanked him and kissed him.

"Thank you," he replied when they parted. "For not leaving me."

"I told you once and I will say it again, I will never leave you Harvey."

.

.

_Donna 358,793, the world 0._

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.

The End.


End file.
